Finals Week

Finals week is just about to begin, and the one thing on my mind is how much sleep I can get now.

Think about it: People are going to be busy studying. Quiet hours are enforced, and they are 22 hours a day! Even if I commit to studying everyday, the most I can do is 8, maybe 10 hours, and not continuously. The time that is left over is devoted to food and sleep. I'm a math major, but you don't need to be to realize what a deal that is.

I have three finals to study for and 10 days to do it. That is a much better ratio than I ever experienced in high school, and I am going to take full advantage of it! I am someone who firmly believes that a good night's sleep is far superior to anything else when it comes to school and studying. The ability to relax, to just go through the work and then be able to congratulate myself with rest, is something I am looking forward to it.

Now yes, I know many of you will be cringing as you read this. Many people psych themselves into believing that there is not nearly enough time to study. For some people this may be true. But I still say that enjoying the time you have to sleep, to get a solid 8 hours at least, is well worth it. Try to relax. Focus, keep working hard, but stay relaxed.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of the different opportunities the university gives us to unwind a bit while studying. Go out for ice cream, go find some free event in a hall! There's a lot to do, and taking at least an hour every day during these next 10 days to be out and away from your books will not only make studying easier, but will help your brain rest and synthesize the information better!

Just hang in there everyone, we'll make it though this one.

New Thing...

Jack and I have started a new thing: a math problem of the week. For those of you around here, the question will be posted outside our door. For everyone else, you can see them at mathprobumn.blogspot.com .

All answers submitted must be submitted to mdrichard05@gmail.com with proof work done. This first week the winner (first correct answer we get) will receive a free meal at Chipotle (or somewhere similar if you don't happen to enjoy Chipotle.)

Even if you aren't in college and/or don't go to UMN, that's okay. We can try to keep our offer for those of you that we know and can establish an IOU for. If other people who don't know us happen to find these problems... well I appreciate you participating!

Thank you, and Jack and I should have another good post up soon!

What's In A Name?

I was trying to figure out what to post, as I have not written much in a while. While I was considering this, I started absentmindedly assigning numbers to letters, and trying to figure out what I could do with these. As I am a math major, and this blog has contained a disproportionately low amount of math, sadly, I figured I would come up with something related to math to post.

Now, the first idea that came to me before the numbers and letters and math was the idea of what is in a name. I believe that many people consider this to be a first name. What stereotypes are associated with various first names? To me, the meat of the subject is in the last name, your history and what nature has given you. I must admit though that there are merits to both ideas.

So, we have what is in a name. And letters equaling numbers. We have all the necessary tools to do some interesting math.
a  b  c  d  e  f   g   h   i     j   k     l     m    n     o    p    q    r    s    t    u     v    w    x    y     z
1  2  3 4  5  6  7   8   9   10 11   12   13   14  15  16  17  18  19  20 21  22  23   24  25   26

I was considering how to approach creating an idea of using numbers to define what is in a name. Personality characteristics are to intangible to define numerically (at least at my low level of math), but maybe something like precision or accuracy. I figured, lets take a look at the likelihood that a statement someone says is correct based on their name. It must be considered that this should be less than 100% for your average name. So maybe the fraction of your first and last names would help this:

Mark / Richard=43/61=0.705 or 70.5%

Here the value of the name is defined as the summation of each of the values of the letters. So Mark = m + a + r + k = 13 + 1 + 18 + 11 = 43.

I can't tell if that is way too often or not often enough. Either way, a second test that I considered is that there are many names that this model would not follow. I thought instantly of Yao Meng, both a physics TA here at the University and an NBA player:

Yao / Meng = 41/39 = 1.05 or 105%

So this idea was not going to work. 

At this point it is rather clear that it is not letters in general that make a good name. Someone with the name Zzzzzz A would not necessarily be better than someone else. So, I decided to add another rule.

Some of the most successful people seem to have a trend of consecutive vowels in their names (especially French and Asian people). With this idea, I thought that the value of a name changes depending on vowels, which to me seem like the more powerful letters, giving definition and form to a word. So, now if two or more vowels are consecutive, you multiply them. However, a = 1 so that wouldn't positively affect the value, so let's say that if a is being multiplied, a = 2. So now:

Yao does not equal Y + a + o, Yao = Y + a*o = 25 + (2*15) = 55.

Now, simply adding the two names does not seem sufficient to determine an inherent value, as discussed above with the Z A thing. Some other manipulation must occur.

I assume that your first name is indicative of the nurture you are going to receive, and your last name is indicative of the nature you are receiving. As such, the value of first names that contain an apostrophe are deducted 5 "points". 

Let us say that the added value of your nature and nurture is proportional to the amount of valuable, positive experience you expect to gain by adulthood. However, if your nature value is greater than your nurture value, we can expect some conflict as your inherent nature, whether it be your interests or physical condition, are not good for the molding that your nurture wants.

One way I thought to deal with this is to simply divide your nature value by ten, and use that as a percentage change.

In my case, Mark = 43 and Richard = 61. I expect conflict as a result. 

43/10 = 4.3. So to reduce my nurture value, we say 43* (1 - 0.043) = 43*.957 = 41.2

Thus the quality of my experience from being nurtured is reduced by my inherent nature.

So far we have deduced how to roughly, very roughly,  determine the value of the experience you are gaining by analyzing your name. Give it a try!

I plan on continuing this train of thought, but I believe this is a good place to end before we start graphing functions related to our names.

If you made it this far, I congratulate you. This post is a large step from the norm, but I think that it is kind of fun to calculate! I will be back with more later.

What's So Great About Classical Music?

The class that I decided to take this semester for a break from the math and science classes was a freshmen seminar class called "What's So Great About Classical Music?" In it, my professor, a man whose formal training is in linguistics but has played piano since the age of 7 and is quite knowledgeable, teaches us ways to understand classical music and analyze why it is appealing. The music theory behind it is not something to be described in this post, but let it suffice to say that the two-and-a -half hours I spend every Friday afternoon listening to and discussing classical music is well worth the time.

The reason I mention this at midnight on a Monday night is largely due to Jack and I sitting here, him doing his physics lab report, me biding my time, while listening to Brahms' Symphony no. 1 and Holst's The Planets. It is interesting how classical music flicks a certain switch in many of us, allowing clarity of thought and focus. For some it doesn't work, and other music is preferred. But I have learned that it works extraordinarily well for me. I feel that this is largely due to the stereotype of classical music that has developed in our modern society. 

Classical music is thought of as either stuffy and boring or refined and tasteful, as many pieces of art associated with nostalgia or history seem this way. Those of us who view it as refined allow the music to shape our mood into a refined, focused and slightly aloof feeling. This seems to work better with romantic music, Beethoven, Chopin and Debussy, than Bach. Bach is often viewed as more stuff ywith the heavy use of the plunky harpsichord and limited use of dynamics. I am partial to slightly heavier, more daring works. The Planets and Carmina Burana are great examples. These provide an intensity that I need to focus, and this makes sense as these pieces are often heard in action scenes in media. Piano pieces give me a more lulling sensation that makes me want to lie down. The sense that the music gives, in addition to the social connotation, really drives its effectiveness in studying. Even if it is not the center of a room, simply used as background white noise, it helps release tension in the air. 

Regardless of your music preference or if classical music is helpful to you, give it a try. Though I have already developed a taste for it, my professor has helped open my eyes to an even more varied repertoire. The beauty, intelligence and pure with that went into the creation of many of these pieces is something rarely seen these days in popular music. Even listening to modern orchestral works or band works is a new experience, and often worth a try.

Coming Home

This weekend is my first at home since I moved into my dorm. It was a rather surreal experience. It's weird to think about a point in my life where my home suddenly stops really feeling like home... As far as the love of my family, it will always be my home, and home-cooked meals will always have a special place in my heart (especially when compared to dining hall food), yet after living with Jack for a month, having most of my necessary possessions in my dorm, and a new era of my life being introduced, it's scary to think of home as something other than home.

Of course coming back to my girlfriend is something that is special. Seeing my little sister and listening to her bubble along about what is going on is fun. And working again, however tiring and monotonous it feels after a one month hiatus, makes me feel a little better. It's nice to have constants in your life. College is such an amorphous, strange experience for me, and having ties to things I know helps keep me balanced and grounded with all of the new experiences.

I advise everyone to take their first visit home seriously. While we have all been having a great time connecting with new people, enjoying new clubs and groups and stressing over quizzes, it is important to remember that our home is a place (I hope for most of us) that has helped us get where we are. When we go back home we can remember moments that helped us become who we are, helped guide us into this great experience at the University. Enjoy the food put in front of you; there is something about food produced for 4 instead of 4000 that is just more enjoyable sometimes. Tell your parents about what has been happening, keep them in the loop (and censor stories as necessary.)

Maybe this is just me as a nerd in CSE, but even doing a little bit of homework at home where I used to helps me focus and gives me a little nostalgia about awful problems in physics, difficult readings and fun projects. It is good to embrace your new experiences; clinging onto the past is never a healthy or productive way to succeed. I just think that it is important to remember your roots, remember the significant experiences in your life. Doing so will help you be more self-aware. In my mind self-awareness is one of the most important traits that helps one really enjoy life. When you know who you are, you can tailor what you do to who you are, rather than the other way around.

Remember to thank your parents, your siblings, teachers, friends or anyone else who really impacted your life and helped you get where you are. Those who helped drive you to your goals, whether directly or indirectly, deserve an enormous amount of thanks from you. There are so many teachers and friends that I need to thank for everything they did to help me get into the college I wanted and helped prepare me for this academic onslaught.

Keep in mind those who helped you. Remember your roots. Enjoy any stay at home that you get, even if it is just for your own bed or a home-cooked meal. And if you do all of this, your past will drive you forward into the future that you have dreamed of.

The Loss of a Roommate

Destiny is here to play.

I'm sure for some of you this means a whole heck of a lot. For me, it is a rather worthless statement. The only thing I have just realized that it means to me is that I have lost my roommate for the next few months.

Jack is not addicted to video games, but he is very excited about this particular one. Yes, watching him play I must admit the graphics are impressive and of course it's a rather different form of game than the average RPG or First Person Shooter. It is simply that I, despite being a CSE kid, am not terribly intrigued by video games. I will play the occasional game of whatever Jack owns here, just for kicks, but I have never been very good nor have I aspired to be.

Losing Jack is hard. It is hard to see him sucked into a vortex of other-worldly sights and sounds, lost from contact beyond the realm of the game. The graphics alone are enough to desensitize even the most curious person from the real world. Jack is a smart kid, but I feel I have lost him forever. Emotional support would be nice.

I do apologize for my hiatus from posting, and starting off again with this sad post. It is simply that I felt the need to voice my concern over this transitional period in our relationship.

Video games are an odd thing for me. I do understand the appeal, and some do impress me as far as strategy is concerned, though overall they have become the perfect marketing ruse.

To those of you who have lost loved ones to Destiny, I empathize with you and I would love to organize a support group. I need one as much as everyone else. To those of you who are hurting those closest to you, either by neglecting them or denying them play time on the game, I simply pour my heart out to you so you can provide some interaction, something to let us know that the glaze in your eye is not personal, that it will pass and we can have you back from the future world that is Destiny.

Frisbee and Bumble Bees

In addition to being very tech-savvy, good at math and engineering, and multi-talented in general, today the guys of CSE showed their medical prowess and calm demeanor.

During a fine game of Ultimate on the Mall lawn, our good friend Peter happened to step on a bee while barefoot. It got him right between his 2nd and 3rd toes. Rough stuff. Grimacing, he hobbled over to the edge of the lawn while the rest of us went to work, getting the stinger out rapidly and discussing briefly the best medical treatment. As it was Labor Day, Boynton was closed, forcing us to trade off carrying him back to Frontier from the Mall. It was a hell of a walk, but Peter was a trooper. And there were definitely worse candidates for the sting as far as getting carried back goes. 

As I'm writing this, Peter is lying on his futon, sipping on tea, hoping that the benadryl will kick in soon. He'll be fine.

If anyone else asks though, especially if you talk to Basel, he got shot in the foot and we carried him 6 miles with a t-shirt around his foot to stop it from bleeding.

I must also give a shout-out to Daniel, the one CBS kid who was with us who actually got the stinger out.

First Night Out

Tonight the freshman class went to the Mall of America for free rides in Nickelodeon Universe and entrance into Sea Life Aquarium. In and of itself, the Mall was not terribly exciting; the interesting part happened afterward.

Six of us decided to go out to Dinkytown when we got back, around 12:30 a.m., to get some food. Mesa Pizza was just a tad crowded so we opted for Five Guys. Things were going just swimmingly when 5 people who Jack, Basel and I graduated with, walked in completely wasted. This itself was rather interesting talk, but then one of them, John, decided to leave. Just a few minutes later we saw him carefully peering into the windows. Somewhat regular drunken behavior I suppose, except the restaurant was full of people, was well lighted, and had full frontal windows. After he seemed to have decided it was worth re-entering, he opened up the first door.

There he met a challenge: On the left was the entrance door, containing a handle. Directly in front of him was an exit with no handle on the outside. His alcohol-induced mind seemed to be thinking in an acutely one-directional fashion, leading him to charge forward, determined, directly into the exit. Infinitely confused by the lack of movement, he continued to push against it multiple times. A puzzled look crossed his face as he searched blindly for help. Finally he kicked the door and left.

Later on, after we had finished our meal and continued to laugh at what we had just saw, suddenly there John was again across the road, jogging at a brisk pace toward a stoplight. There he stopped, a little confused, until another group of people yelled at him. Little interaction occurred, and we saw him texting and calling someone. We assumed he was calling his friends, who had neglected to notice his little plight with doors, wondering why the restaurant was closed and what they could possibly do to let him in.

It is interesting to see people you have known for years in such a state of disrepair. But that doesn't dull the humor.

It was hard to decide whether the ladies who asked us if we knew how to Tango, John, or the guy who ate a raw potato while waiting in line took the win for best part of our first night out off of campus (all three groups/people were drunk), but I believe it has decidedly gone to John.

Open Letter to CLA Students

Disclaimer: If you need a disclaimer to understand the satire in this post then you are probably in CLA.

To whom it may concern:

First I would like to sincerely congratulate you on being accepted into the least prestigious college of one of the most prestigious research universities in the country. Your accomplishments thus far in your life are something to be spoken of often; it must pointed out though that they will be spoken of in condescending, mocking tones by those in other colleges.

I must articulate my excitement to meet all of you on campus or in Dinky Town as you stumble along the street, asking me for help on how to find food or a bathroom. Slurred speech, drool and all, it is intriguing to think how much worse you can be when this is my impression of you when you are sober. And while I am excited to see you all, it is true that statistically I will only see sixty percent of you return next year.

The excellent education that you came here for is something I feel we can connect with. I love hearing about the Art History and Political Science majors, as I have always felt that we need more museum curators and politicians in this country. Noble pursuits are they. But I do prefer to converse with the English majors so they can remind me of their ability to almost speak it. As to those in Leadership and Communications, I look forward to seeing your seminars posted on the bulletin board outside of my office.

Admittedly I am not being fair. There are plenty of very intelligent people in the College of Liberal Arts. I look forward to meeting all of my fellow Math or Physics majors who received a B.A. instead of a B.S. at my child's sixth grade conferences. Also Anthropologists have always struck me as quite intelligent as they have a fine understanding of infinite loops; namely how anthropologists have nothing to do but teach other people about anthropology.

Among the most interesting majors to me in the College of Liberal Arts are those of the form [Insert Minority] Studies. The motivation to take courses in these is fairly reasonable, as current events and twelve years of public schooling often do not contain enough information on social tension and the problems that minorities face. So maybe $100,000 and four years may make you a more informed citizen.

I also noticed, and it was a disappointing realization, that there is no White Male Studies program. But then a friend from CBS pointed out that is simply a history major.

Overall it is important to realize that you did make it into the University of Minnesota, and are becoming a member of the local community and you have the opportunity to change the world. Chances are though, you're in CLA because you probably did not try to change the world even a little bit in high school. Good luck though; mediocrity is sexy.

The Sign of a Social Butterfly

Yesterday was our first full day on campus, where we ate some brunch, met our Community Adviser Joe, along with half of our floor, met a nice group of people in our college, and took a class picture while learning sports cheers. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day. And while I could tell many stories about the antics of Jack, or the issue with getting food during our Welcome Week, I want to zone in on a particular occurrence that I believe epitomized Jack's role as the social butterfly.

I will begin by stating that, in an effort to be the first off the football field after the class picture, we were eager to be the first ones on it as well, which left us (Jack, myself and our neighbor Mark) to our own devices in a cramped space for 20 minutes. And it was quite cramped. Fitting nearly 6000 people into about a third of the area of a football field isn't quite easy.

We were talking, and trying to do something more than play chopsticks, which led us to the poor decision to attempt to play ninja in this confined circle we had created about 4 feet in diameter. The first game went off without a hitch, Jack winning handily as the confined circle made dodging a blow exponentially harder. Then Mark offered we play, for lack of a better term, mini-ninja in which only the index fingers would be used or hit.

In this kind effort of ours to be more mindful of the people around us Jack nearly committed an act of blatant molestation. And no, neither Mark nor myself were the near victims, it was a nice girl named Serena behind us.

Jack, in a rather violent movement lacking much grace, was attempting to dodge one of my blows and ended up pawing this nice college freshman in the inner thigh, only inches from.. you know.
Instantly Jack apologized and tried to engage this girl in conversation. It was immediately noticeable that she was in rather good humor, but of course acting offended at the action. I apologized for my lug of a roommate, and they kept talking, finding out about her roommate, her college, that she is a volleyball player, and Jack learned this almost immediately.

It amazed me.

How does a man, a college freshman at that, essentially grope a girl, despite no intent in doing so, manage within the next 30 minutes to almost get her phone number and know where she lives? It was quite the spectacle to see how Jack instantly charmed her. And that is undeniable proof of Jack's social prowess.

In a story tangential to this one, more of an anecdote, I was waiting in line for dinner with Basel Kablawi, and he accidentally backed into a girl as she was trying to squeeze by us all. He apologized, but after she had gone by 3 or 4 steps I said, probably too loudly, "Basel, you dog!".
The girl looked back, and gave the most disgusting look I could have imagined. Luckily I don't have to act as a proper wingman quite yet.


More posts may be written about yesterday or today according to the whim of Jack and myself.

The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

Disclaimer: This initial post on this blog is not consistent with the future mood and content of future posts, nor has this been approved by the aforementioned roommate of mine. Also this is listed under CSE students only as CLA students will not understand it.

So this is it. The first day of the rest of our lives. It's move-in time for college freshmen, and whether we are moving far away or 20 minutes down the road, we are facing a cultural and social change that we have never encountered thus far in our lives.

College is a scary time. New people to meet, professors that will not cater to your every need, and for most of us, it is the first time that we are paying directly for our education. This matters now, and we have to make the most of it.

Some of us are looking for relationships, some have just ended them, and some are dreading moving apart from their significant others. The bittersweet emotions are rampant in our heads, as we try to put up a strong front for our parents. It is crazy and exciting, packing our past 18 years into boxes and heading off to something completely new. We hope to see our good friends from high school again, yet look forward to a new group of people that don't know of your embarrassing and frustrating moments, who you can tell all about your grand accomplishments in high school, and move forward with them through college.

It is a difficult time, this first day that will truly affect us for the rest of our lives. Getting off on the right foot with our roommates, our professors, throwing ourselves into the social scene, doing everything it takes to make the most out of our college experience. But this first day is stressful, it is as close to a new beginning as many people come to. Every moment matters, and that is so scary.

Yet, an important idea to remember is that each day is the first day of the rest of our lives, each day something new can happen. That doesn't mean to wait until tomorrow. Do what you want to do now. But know that this first day in college, your first day in classes, is not the say-all-end-all to the next four years of your life. Each new day offers another experience, another friend to make or concept to grasp. Enjoy these moments, and look forward to each new day as a new beginning from yesterday.

Welcome

A preliminary post is in the making...